Spotlight
Letter From the Director: New RE-JOIN Consortium Awards Seek to Understand Pain Signals in Joints to Reduce Pain, Limit Deterioration, and Restore Healthy Joints

Understanding and treating joint pain is important to improving long-term health—and a fundamental part of the NIAMS mission. With that in mind, NIAMS is supporting a new Consortium that may lead us closer to ultimately being able to restore joint health. The Restoring Joint Health and Function to Reduce Pain (RE-JOIN) Consortium, part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, will bring together multiple research teams to create 3-D maps of the different types of sensory neurons found in two important joints of the body: the knee and the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), better known as the jaw joint. This research aims to discover how neurons from these different joints influence and create the sensation of pain, which could potentially lead to novel, more precise therapies for reducing joint pain and deterioration—as well as restoring healthy joints.
Please read our recently published director’s letter announcing the awards.
News
Now Accepting Applications: The Team Science Leadership Scholars Program in Women’s Health Research
Deadline: February 20, 2023, 5 p.m. ET
NIAMS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) recently announced a pilot program to support and train research scholars by helping them acquire and hone team science leadership and mentoring skills. The Team Science Leadership Scholars Program (LSP) in Women’s Health, Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases is now accepting applications. The LSP is funded by ORWH and embedded within the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases (AMP® AIM) program. This joint initiative aligns NIAMS’ goal of supporting team science and collaboration with the ORWH vision of preparing leaders in women’s health research. Please refer to the funding opportunity announcement from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for further information and instructions on how to apply.
Datasets From AMP RA/SLE Available to the Public in New ARK Portal
The Arthritis and Autoimmune and Related Diseases Knowledge (ARK) Portal is a virtual resource that accumulates, organizes, and links core datasets generated by research teams focused on arthritis, autoimmune, skin, and related diseases. Directed by NIAMS and developed and maintained by Sage Bionetworks, the ARK Portal will house a broad and diverse portfolio of datasets – the first of which will come from the Accelerated Medicines Partnership® Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (AMP® RA/SLE). Access to the datasets on the portal is free to the public; however, some datasets will require users to register and agree to a data-use agreement.
Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Funding Plan
NIAMS is operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) through December 16, 2022. An interim funding plan is under development and will be posted as soon as it is available.

Workshop Explores Strategies to Tackle Health Disparities in Osteoarthritis
Workshop Explores Strategies to Tackle Health Disparities in Osteoarthritis
A 2-day virtual workshop sponsored by NIAMS, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities explored how understanding disparities can lead to better health in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis investigators and health disparities researchers convened to discuss why inequities in osteoarthritis treatment outcomes and access to care exist—and how to address these challenges. Read a full meeting summary on this NIAMS webpage.

Celebrating One Year of the BGTC
October 27, 2022, marked the first anniversary of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium, a public-private initiative focused on making gene therapy more accessible for rare genetic disorders.

Robotic Exoskeleton Helps People Walk
An NIH-funded research team created a robotic leg exoskeleton that provides personalized walking assistance under real-world conditions. Participant testing resulted in an average 9 percent improvement in walking speed and a 17 percent lower energy expenditure. This technology opens the door to a broader use of exoskeletons to assist individuals with physical impairments.

U.S. National Survey Identifies Associations Between Chronic Severe Back Pain and Disability
According to an analysis of national survey data, 8.2 percent of American adults have chronic severe back pain, and about three-quarters of those with chronic severe back pain have difficulties with mobility, social participation, self-care, or work participation. The analysis echoed previous findings linking comorbidities and lifestyle factors—such as work and sociodemographic factors—to low back pain severity and persistence.

NIH’s Climate and Health Initiative Tackles Global Health Effects Associated With a Changing Climate
A coalition of leaders at NIH outline how the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative is uniquely poised to lead and engage with communities and agencies globally to address the health effects associated with climate change.

Letter From the NCCIH Director: Entering a New Chapter in Understanding Myofascial Pain
When we think of research on pain and how it manifests within the physiology of the human body, myofascial tissues have been a persistently understudied part of the picture. That’s why a number of newly announced grants, funded as part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, are so noteworthy. Myofascial tissues are potentially involved in nearly all common chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions, like chronic low back pain, neck and shoulder pain, headache, and temporomandibular disorders.
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Is Hiring Program Managers
Do you have a bold idea that may become the next transformative health solution? Do you thrive at the cutting-edge of biomedical and health research? Find more information about becoming an ARPA-H program manager.
COVID-19 Updates: Keep up with the latest on COVID-19 with health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and research from NIH.
Funding Opportunities
Notice of Special Interest: Promoting Research on COVID-19 and Rheumatic, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (NOT-AR-22-012)
Multiple due dates through January 7, 2023
Promoting Research Opportunities on HIV/AIDS in NIAMS (NOT-AR-23-004)
Applies to due dates on or after February 5, 2023
Limited Competition: Promoting a Basic Understanding of Chemical Threats to Skin (R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PAS-21-245)
Next application due date: February 16, 2023
NIAMS Clinical Trial Planning Grant (R34) – Clinical Trial Not Allowed (PAR-22-205)
Next application due date: March 3, 2023. See announcement for additional dates.
Ancillary Studies to Ongoing Clinical Projects (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PAR-23-025)
Application due date: April 6, 2023
Ancillary Studies to Ongoing Clinical Projects (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PAR-23-026)
Application due date: April 6, 2023
NIH HEAL Initiative®: Planning Studies for Initial Analgesic Development [Small Molecules and Biologics] (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-NS-21-029)
Next application due date: June 9, 2023
HEAL Initiative: Translational Development of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Devices (R18 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-EB-22-002)
Application due date: June 19, 2023
HEAL Initiative: Interdisciplinary Team Science to Uncover the Mechanisms of Pain Relief by Medical Devices (RM1 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-NS-23-003)
Application due date: June 13, 2023
Stay Updated About Funding Announcements
If you would like information about grants and funding opportunities, subscribe to funding-dedicated email newsletters, including periodic NIAMS Funding Alerts and a monthly NIAMS Funding News email, and follow our Twitter account (@NIAMSFunding) focused on funding opportunities. Also check out the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the primary source for information about NIH funding opportunities. You can also request a weekly Table of Contents from the NIH Guide. In addition, the NIAMS website provides comprehensive information on NIAMS-related grants and processes.
Resources

Spotlight on Scientific Imagery: Drosophila Intestine
Drosophila melanogaster intestine cross-section. Stained for Actin (PhTRITC- magenta), mitochondria (mito-GFP- green), and nucleus (DAPI- blue).
Photo credit: Katti Prasanna, Ph.D., Muscle Energetics Laboratory, NIAMS and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Enhanced NIAMS Website Now Features Resources From the NIAMS Coalition
Do you know about the NIAMS Coalition, a group of professional and patient advocacy organizations with a shared interest in diseases related to the bones, joints, muscles, and skin? Now you can find out more. The updated Coalition Overview page and the new searchable Coalition members page feature a variety of outreach tools and information, such as grants, funding opportunities, meetings, and other resources from NIH, NIAMS, and NIAMS Coalition organizations.
Events
January NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting (Virtual Meeting)
The next NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting will be held virtually on January 31, 2023. The meeting will be available for viewing via the NIH videocasting service. A video recording of the previous NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting on September 14, 2022, is available.

NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series
Upcoming Lectures:
January 11, 2023
2 to 3 p.m. ET
Rory Cooper, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
“The Power of Assistive Technology to Transform Lives”
Additional Information
January 18, 2023
2 to 3 p.m. ET
Gerard Karsenty M.D., Ph.D., Columbia University Medical Center
“WALS Lecture With Gerard Karsenty M.D., Ph.D.”
Additional Information
February 1, 2023
2 to 3 p.m. ET
Helen Blau, Ph.D., Stanford University
“Regenerating and Rejuvenating Aged Tissues by Targeting a Gerozyme”
Additional Information
NIH Science Lectures and Events Available via Internet
Look for past videocasts, including:
- How Do Diversity Supplements Impact Careers in Biomedical and Behavioral Research?—November 2022
- Advancing the Science of Community-Engaged Health Disparities Research, Day 1 and Day 2—November 2022
- Gender and Health Workshop Concurrent Session: Modifiable Factors & Clinical Interventions—October 2022
For additional online science seminars and events hosted by the NIH, view the NIH VideoCast Future Events and the NIH calendar.